== ISSUE 160 ==== CONSUMABLE ONLINE ======== [November 4, 1998] Editor: Bob Gajarsky E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Al Muzer, Joe Silva, Lang Whitaker Correspondents: Christina Apeles, Niles J. Baranowski, Dan Birchall, Tracey Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges, Jason Cahill, Patrick Carmosino, Krisjanis Gale, Emma Green, Paul Hanson, Chris Hill, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Franklin Johnson, Steve Kandell, Robin Lapid, Linda Scott, Scott Slonaker, Chelsea Spear, Simon Speichert, Jon Steltenpohl, Simon West Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription information is given at the end of this issue. ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' REVIEW: Alanis Morissette, _Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Fatboy Slim, _You've Come a Long Way, Baby_ - Krisjanis Gale REVIEW: Beck, _Mutations_ - Daniel Aloi REVIEW: Oasis, _The Masterplan_ - Bob Gajarsky INTERVIEW/REVIEW: Marillion, _Radiat10n_ - Dan Birchall REVIEW: Goo Goo Dolls, _Dizzy Up the Girl_ - Joann D. Ball REVIEW: Chemical Brothers, _Brothers Gonna Work It Out_ - Simon West REVIEW: DeeJay Punk-Roc, _ChickenEye_ - Tim Mohr REVIEW: dada, _dada_ - Scott Slonaker REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Clay Pigeons_ - Lang Whitaker REVIEW: Beekeeper, _Ostrich_ - Chelsea Spear REVIEW: Photek, _Form & Function_ - Simon West REVIEW: Absinthe (featuring Sam Llanas), _ A Good Day to Die_ - Daniel Aloi REVIEW: Lida Husik, _Faith in Space_ / Pee Shy, _Don't Get Too Comfortable_ - Chelsea Spear REVIEW: Martin's Dam, _Sky Above_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Peter Green/Splinter Group, _The Robert Johnson Songbook_ - Tim Kennedy NEWS: Cheap Trick, Queen TOUR DATES: 12Rods, Baby Ray, Better Than Ezra / Bic Runga, Candlebox, Chocolate Genius, Deftones / Pitchshifter / Quicksand, Everlast, Miles Hunt, Howard Jones, Jude, Marilyn Manson, Mercury Rev, Motley Crue, Mike Peters, Rev. Horton Heat / Amazing Crowns, Tricky / Whale, Moe Tucker, Uz Jsme Doma, Mike Watt, Wesley Willis / Cats & Jammers Back Issues of Consumable --- REVIEW: Alanis Morissette, _Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie_ (Maverick) - Bob Gajarsky This, then, is what 1998 boils down to. The most anticipated album of the calendar year - if not for fans or critics, then for many in the music industry - has been ordained to pick up a lagging sales year. Sixteen million albums sold on your adult debut (we'll not count the Tiffany-meets-Jody Watley Canadian years) will put those kind of pressures on a person. For Alanis Morissette, this kind of attention is much more significant than any from days gone by on Nickelodeon's "You Can't Do That On Television". After the success of _Jagged Little Pill_ blew away all expectations and made a passing reference to oral sex in one of the hit singles of 1995 ("You Oughta Know"), Alanis had the music world at her feet. Cultural causes were embraced, from Tibetan freedom to a backpack trek around India. These causes - and subsequent introspection - become the basis for much of _Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie_. The first single, "Thank U", pays homage to those jaunts. 'Shukri-ya', if you will, to the land of Gandhi. Despite a repetitive set of lyrics (which again is indicative of _Junkie_), "Thank U" represents enough of a departure from the programmed drums to show that Alanis is taking the next step in that long musical path. Middle-Eastern musical influences which first surfaced in "Uninvited" (curiously omitted from _Junkie_) pop up all over this disc. "The Couch" doesn't reach the high points of the track from _City of Angels_ , but does initially tip its hat in that general direction. Sinister backing keyboards and drums back "UR" and "I Was Hoping", dispelling rumours of a sophomore jinx. And fans of "You Oughta Know" will appreciate the slower, funkier sound of the leadoff track "Front Row". Morrissette's lyrics provide a paradox for the listener. On one hand, her songs tackle subject matters and offer insights far beyond her years. The Dylanesque poetry of "I Was Hoping", where she refrains herself from telling off an obsequious waiter who ignored her that "I could buy and sell this place so kiss it" shows a maturity which has bypassed many in the rap community. And the rest of the album contains deeper looks into relationships and self-confidence than have any right to be in a four minute song. Morissette either has an incredible ability to write songs through other people's bodies, or presents us with a painful autobiographical journey through her thought process and is crying out for help. Many of the songs, however, drift back into a simple structure where they use repetitive phrases or ideas to a point of absurdity. "Are You Still Mad" is the start of almost every line of that song; "That I Would Be Good" includes the first four words on every line of its structure, and even "Thank U" has a childish way of starting each line. Morissette's spoken/singing technique - which draws people to either love her or hate her - offers mixed results. On the spoken verse, sung chorus of "Joining You", Alanis gets it just right, as her unusual accentuation - not only by syllable, but word and sentence - brings the song out of the dull landscape surrounding the end of _Junkie_. But, at seventeen songs and 71 minutes, _Junkie_ drags on 30 minutes too long. "Baba" becomes a lightning rod for what happens when a song better left on the cutting room floor gets pressed onto disc. Poorly mixing out of synch feedback with guitars and vocals, this is something Yoko Ono might consider good. And, in the end, that's a bad thing - no matter what John might have thought while he was with us. Alanis Morissette was granted a tremendous amount of creativity with _Suppsed Former Infatuation Junkie_ consistent with the sales of her previous album. And although _Junkie_ lasts a bit longer than it should, there are enough creative moments here to justify a continued look at the enigma known as Alanis. --- REVIEW: Fatboy Slim, _You've Come a Long Way, Baby_ (Astralwerks/Skint) - Krisjanis Gale Norman Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim is a funk collage artist, equipped, to a rather ridiculous extent, with all the tools befitting a solo act in this age of electronica. This is immediately apparent upon viewing the three-panel photo spread of his home studio, bereft with vintage analogue synths, a 32-track mixing workstation, several samplers and other rackmount gear, hundreds of floppy disks, and a scattered library of probably over a thousand records, the shelves bending at the weight of it all. What is Fatboy up to with this arsenal? Something big by the looks of it. So many electronic artists take a lax view of music composition, seeing their machines as a means to an end in and of themselves, forever repeating a proccess, focusing on technique rather than style. This is NOT Fatboy Slim. Listening to _You've Come A Long Way Baby_ , you get the impression that Fatboy is someone who thoroughly enjoys doing a bit of homework before setting forth to create a fresh mix. The gear, the arsenal of audio...NONE of it goes to waste. Every song on the disc is a rather perfectly assembled semblance of long-lost grooves and hooks, with a cleanly fused layer of modern touches atop them. Maybe you don't know what a TB-303 is, but you know you've heard of the "acid box" and "acid house." Maybe you don't know a speech synthesizer from a vocoder, but you've heard of Kraftwerk, and what they'd done with them. Maybe you don't listen to much funk or disco, but you know you've heard music from the 70's. Maybe you don't frequent raves, but you know you've heard the end result of this dance culture on rare late-night radio outings. And you've probably no idea how a sampler actually works or what it does, but you know every jungle and drum & bass artist worth mentioning has one. You're probably like most people - very new to this whole bizarre phenomenon labeled "electronica." And even if you're not, there's certainly quite a bit of it out there that still seems undeniably alien to you. Electronica, or the status quo of it, at least, is not for everyone. But everyone knows how to bop their head. Fatboy's mission is to bop the heads of an entire society, utilizing a style that is new and different, but also leveraging a fierce respect for the past. There are so many familiar bits and pieces on this album, that have been expertly cut up, chewed, swallowed, spit back out again, and rearranged that the resulting ultra-slick puree of rock-funk-disco-soul-house-trance-ambient-garage-techno has something for everyone. Everyone. Of course, there's no accounting for technical clarity in all this sampling and resampling, mixing and remixing. This is not a clean album by any stretch of the imagination. Lots of dirt. Lots of clicks and pops. Lots of jerky transitions. And obvious digital clipping surrounding Fatboy's insistence upon chopping vocal samples to oblivion. (I believe these are the "rubber syllables" referred to in Rockafella Skank.) But who honestly cares about a clean mix when they're playing music at floor-rumbling volume? We want something fresh, loud, and groove-centric. Fatboy Slim delivers. --- REVIEW: Beck, _Mutations_ (Bong Load/DGC) - Daniel Aloi Just for the creative and commercial chances Beck Hansen takes, for all the genres he steps into, you gotta love the guy. While not the experimental stretch _Odelay_ was, _Mutations_ offers an important side to this artist that most fans seem to miss, but many of the rest seem to love -- the folkie in him. Most of the 12 tracks on _Mutations_ are seriously grounded in '60s music and heavy on psychedelia and British and American folk rock. Some other roots music -- blues riffs, country beats -- and blasting electric guitars are thrown in for leavening. The crystalline production by Beck and Nigel Godrich (Radiohead) is among this album's greatest attributes. The lyrics also are among Beck's best to date, containing some stunning imagery and numerous symbols of death, loss and dissipation: "My love is a room of broken bottles and tangled webs," he sings in "Sing It Again." He closes "Dead Melodies" with: "Cinders and chaff/ laugh at the moon/night birds will cackle/rotting like apples on trees/sending their dead melodies/ to me." The psychedelic motif is set by the opener, "Cold Brains," streaming consciousness ("unmoved, untouched, unglued") on mind-expanding multitracked vocals and folkie riffs on guitar, keyboards and harmonica. "Dead Melodies" is almost pure mountain folk, while "We Live Again" and "Lazy Flies" recall the British folk vanguard of Steeleye Span or Donovan. "Canceled Check" is a loping country stomp with acoustic guitarist Smoky Hormel (who's played with John Doe and tours with Beck), drummer Joey Waronker and pedal steel player Greg Leisz. The track seems to be live and it ends with a cacophony of things breaking or falling apart. "Tropicalia" floats on Latin jazz, as Beck describes the street-level social and policital breakdown of formerly exotic foreign locales: "Misery waits in vague hotels/to be evicted." Listening through to the end, "Static" is dreamy and starry-eyed, very close to Beck at his major-label trippiest. And a hidden track just blisters with pumping rock'n'roll fury, occasionally pausing for the sound of birds chirping. That may be a preview of the next "official" Beck album, due out in 1999. Wait, isn't this a Beck album? Well, sure it is. But it isn't meant to be perceived as the BIG Beck album. Before he decided to release it on DGC, the songs here were originally meant for his side deal with the indie Bong Load Records. My advance copy states Beck sees it as more of a "parenthetical" work -- "but he does not consider it as the official follow-up" to the critical and commercial 1996 hit _Odelay._ I personally think that's just a sop to Geffen, a codicil for the fans and critics expecting another groundbreaking masterwork. "It's a collection of dirges and waltzes," Beck said of this new album back in June, to an upstate New York audience. He deadpanned: "So it's for the hip-hop market -- filling that need." (For the record, "O Maria" may be the only dirgelike thing here). Actually, it's a rich and rootsy, resourceful set of songs, and a fine companion to his _One Foot in the Grave_ album (another one-off). Fans of that will certainly dig just about all of this. And fans of keyboard player (and Jellyfish/Imperial Drag alum) Roger J. Manning's satirical/worshipful moves in The Moog Cookbook will appreciate all the cheesy and scary, inner- and outer-spacey sounds he brings to the mix on many of the tracks. When Beck performed some of this new material on his summer tour, it met with some indifferent, often rude response from his young, spoon-fed audiences. At the show I saw in June, he gave his all to "Nobody's Fault But My Own," accompanied only by his acoustic guitar -- and was roundly ignored. The crowd noise nearly drowned him out. Unfortunately, the kids just wanted to hear "Loser" and a version of "I Wanna Sex U Up" and see the white-suited wonder bust a move. This is the kind of audience disrespect and apathy both Beck and Neil Young frequently railed against on last year's H.O.R.D.E. Tour. If the audience can't get into what they've paid and traveled to see, it's their loss. For my money, though, Beck has made one of the best Dylan albums of the year, if not one of the best overall. Whatever its ultimate commercial fate, history should treat _Mutations_ well. I'll spin it for years to come, I know that. --- REVIEW: Oasis, _The Masterplan_ (Epic) - Bob Gajarsky In the spirit of their forefathers the Beatles and rekindled during the eighties by the Smiths, Oasis consider each track available for commercial consumption to be an opportunity to establish themselves as the greatest band in the world. Now, finally, American audiences get the opportunity to judge Oasis' claims for themselves on the B-sides compilation _The Masterplan_. Whether displaying the acoustic charm of book-ends "Half The World Away" and "Fade Away" (the latter appearing in an electrified form on the Bosnian relief album _Help!_ ), a driving Southern-rock boogie instrumental "Swamp Song", or covering the Beatles on a spitting image cover of "I Am The Walrus", the 14 tracks here represent a smattering of the other side of Oasis. The title track is a five-and-a-half minute epic-in-the-making taken from the same cloth as "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Champagne Supernova" with the same full-orchestra feel, while the best song of all, "Acquiesce" brings together all the elements that people love and hate about Oasis; the Gallagher sneer, Noel's classic writing in the style of Lennon, and a perfect segueway from verse to chorus to verse without missing a beat. Sure, the writing is simple, but no one else seems to be doing it right quite like this. There are at least five songs here which, in their native England, could be considered legitimate smash singles. In one sentence, that about sums up the power of Oasis - a B-sides album that is stronger than many bands best efforts. With such a wealth of material in the Oasis 'vault' (nearly 35 non-album tracks from 14 singles and EPs), it would have required a minor miracle to screw up this compilation. Completists may rue the loss of Japan-only tracks (such as a cover of the Beatles "You've Got To Hide Your Away") or the vinyl-only tracks released in England (such as "Bonehead's Bankholiday", an ode to Ringo), but American fans should rejoice at the opportunity to add this album to their Oasis collection. TRACK LISTING: Acquiese, Underneath The Sky, Talk Tonight, Going Nowhere, Fade Away, Swamp Song, I Am The Walrus, Listen Up, Rockin' Chair, Half The World Away, It's Good To Be Free, Stay Young, Headshrinker, The Masterplan --- INTERVIEW/REVIEW: Marillion, _Radiat10n_ (Velvel) - Dan Birchall Marillion's tenth album, _Radiat10n_ , hit the United States October 27, five weeks after its European debut. Two US-only tracks excuse the delay, but fans will surely debate the album's virtues in comparison to the band's other works. This may sound a bit extreme, but Marillion fans are a special breed - when lack of label support made a US tour unlikely, they raised $50,000 to make it possible! The bandmembers clearly appreciate the devotion, and while breaking new ground with each album, also work to reach marks set in the past. Though Marillion's songs have always been emotionally charged, this album is a bit of a twist. The lyrics are often painful, but the presentation, though wistful and perhaps resigned, is never depressing. In an interview with Consumable, vocalist Steve Hogarth described "a double spiral of pain and light-heartedness," adding, "All this pain was reflected in the songs, and yet, when we came to record them, the atmosphere in the studio was upbeat." The album begins with "Costa del Slough" and "Under The Sun," humorous takes on the effects of ozone-layer depletion and global warming. "The hole in the ozone layer has got to be a good thing if it improves the God-awful English climate," jokes Hogarth, "and if the polar ice-caps should melt, well, that would bring the beach much closer to my front door. All the dead and dirty little English towns (e.g. Slough) would sprout palm trees and become tropical resorts!" Twisted humor persists on "The Answering Machine," with an amusing look at how answering machines mediate relationships between dysfunctional people. "Three Minute Boy" is pure semi-autobiographical Marillion, the tale of a star's rise and fall. US fans may not see Marillion as big stars, but the band has done well worldwide. Hogarth explains, "I've been touched by the fame thing enough to be affected by it, and to gain an insight into the potential for further damage higher up the tree." The band's trademark heart-rending intensity and dynamic range shine on "Now She'll Never Know," "These Chains," "Born to Run," and "Cathedral Wall," as Hogarth spills emotions from what he calls "a period of domestic collapse that I've been through these last couple of years." The final new track, "A Few Words for the Dead," is a stunning epic with some of the most compelling lyrics Marillion has penned. World music influences underly the universal message that avenging our wronged ancestors only perpetuates conflict for future generations. The album ends with an acoustic "Estonia" and a danceable remix of "Memory of Water," both off the band's last album, "This Strange Engine." _Radiat10n_ aims to please, and hits the mark pretty squarely. A few fans will surely want more loud songs, or more quiet songs, or whatever. But all in all, this is strong, listenable music, with some compelling lyrics. And for fans who want to hear it live, Hogarth says the band is looking at a US tour - with label support - in February of 1999. --- REVIEW: Goo Goo Dolls, _Dizzy Up the Girl_ (Warner) - Joann D. Ball It should come as no surprise that the Goo Goo Dolls have crafted such a beautiful and memorable song as "Iris." After all, during the past ten years the Goos have steadily evolved from a blue-collar thrash punk trio into a mature, intelligent power pop band. While 1991's _Hold Me Up_ was a move away from the band's dive bar roots, _Superstar Carwash_ which followed two years later, elevated the band to a whole new level. The band's first stab at the big time was the single "We Are the Normal," written by the Goos and their major influence Paul Westerberg. By the time of the collaboration, Westerberg had laid his band The Replacements to rest, effectively passing the singer/songwriter/good time rock-n-pop band badge to the Buffalo, New York based band. If the hit single "Name" made the Goo Goo Dolls' 1995 studio outing _A Boy Named Goo_ a breakthrough record, then the song "Iris" from the soundtrack of this year's summer movie "City of Angels" should finally establish the band as a rock tour de force. All of the attention generated by the soundtrack single, also included on the brand new album _Dizzy Up the Girl_ , significantly alters the scheme of things for the Goo Goo Dolls. But singer, songwriter and guitarist John Rzeznik and musical brother, vocalist, songwriter and bassist Robby Takac meet this dream of a lifetime challenge head on with the thirteen tracks on _Dizzy Up the Girl_. Those just discovering the band may have hoped for a record filled with lush tracks identical to "Iris." But what they get instead is a record that contains a number of great radio friendly songs which explore the sonic range of contemporary modern rock. The band throws itself into "Dizzy," a rocking opening track that peaks with John's typical full vocal/big sound chorus. The second track is "Slide," the first single from _Dizzy Up the Girl_ which quickly hit the number one spot on the modern rock chart and helped propel the album into Billboard's Top Twenty. "Slide" is the stuff that longtime fans have come to expect from the Goo Goo Dolls and new fans will come to love. The infectious guitar-based song has all the right hooks, a sing-along chorus and a great upbeat vibe making it the best summertime song ever released after Labor Day. The Goo Goo Dolls' sound essentially boils down to guitars, bass and drums, with keyboards and strings accenting that basic arrangement on tracks like "Iris." The tracks on album number six strike a wonderful balance between all out rockers and slower, mellower numbers. Indicative of the former is the insightful uptempo cut "Broadway," on which John reveals his ability to tell a great story with Westerberg-like skill. The song also features the guitar work of another influence, the now almost legendary pop tunesmith Tommy Keene. While John sings most of the songs on the record, Robby does belt out a few tunes on _Dizzy Up the Girl_. He delivers "January Friend" and "Full Forever" with typical gusto in his nasal, everyman's barroom voice which is the perfect complement to John's clear, full and passionate vocals. The Goo Goo Dolls do a superb job entertaining the listener on _Dizzy Up the Girl_. But to fully comprehend the true heart and the soul of the band, one must experience the band live. The Goo Goo Dolls recently kicked off an eagerly awaited American tour at the intimate Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, California and were well rehearsed and rarin' to go. The Goos were full of energy and good humor as they served up turbo charged rock-n-roll with great enthusiasm. Resident skins man Mike Malinin kept the rhythm super tight behind John and Robby, with session musicians Nathan December on guitar and backing vocals and David Schulz on keyboards and backing vocals rounding out the tour line-up. Whereas on previous tours, the band operated as a trio with John working overtime handling all the guitar work, the addition of these two excellent musicians expanded the band's sound and gave John a chance to play acoustic guitar, concentrate on his vocals and play the ever friendly host of the evening. On opening night, the Goo Goo Dolls delivered an awesome 21-song set that drew heavily from the new record and the previous two releases. It's a move that will likely be repeated as the band plays theaters and mid-sized venues across the country. The Goo Goo Dolls are an excellent bet for a good time and an awesome rock show, so don't miss the fun when it rolls through your town. Check out the band's website at http://www.googoodolls.com --- REVIEW: Chemical Brothers, _Brothers Gonna Work It Out_ (Astralwerks) - Simon West Before The Chemical Brothers hit paydirt as pioneers of big-beat, they were critically lauded DJs, spinning discs around Europe's more notable dancefloors. Their third full-length release sees the Brothers return to their turntable roots with a continuous mix that includes some 23 tracks across a wide array of genres, blended to form the year's best party album. Funk, rock, hip-hop, industrial and various flavors of what has come to be known as electronica are masterfully mixed together - the depth of the Chemical Brothers' record collection is matched by their ability to work a dancefloor. They're savvy enough to include several of their own compositions - a heavily remixed "Block Rockin' Beats" by Micronauts makes an appearance, along with "Elektrobank" b-side "Not Another Drugstore", "Morning Lemon" and more than a few familiar samples. A couple of Chemical remixes close out the party - their masterful deconstruction of Manic Street Preachers' "Everything Must Go" leads into a swirling mix of "I Think I'm Love" by Spiritualized. Earlier, industrial mainstays Meat Beat Manifesto ("Mars Needs Women") sit alongside early electronica artists/dub terrorists Renegade Soundwave ("Thunder"). You'll recognize bits here and there then, but this is no mail-order dance compilation - there's more obscurity than Top 40 in the mix. The great strength of _Brothers Gonna Work It Out_ is apparent when turned up loud with lots of people around - this is a mix to dance to, pure and simple. From the funk of the title track, through the hard beats of the Brothers' own work, hip-hop beats and rhymes, and several minutes of ultra-cheesy seventies funk, this disc exists purely to move the body. The usual anonymous techno found on a mix CD is conspicuous by its absence - The Chemical Brothers' popularity has always stemmed from their ability to recognize a good hook when they hear it, and this extends beyond their own compositions to their DJing selections. Immaculate taste and a mean ear for rhythm. Buy. Have a loud party. --- REVIEW: DeeJay Punk-Roc, _ChickenEye_ (Skint/Independiente/Epic) - Tim Mohr Though the form of electronic music termed Big Beat borrows heavily from American hip-hop - frequently adopting the signature drum arrangements, using vocal and instrumental samples from old funk and soul records, idealizing elements of Old School style - the music has never gained much of a following in the States (and particularly in American hip-hop circles). In fact, discounting the Crystal Method (and they do deserve to be discounted), DeeJay Punk-Roc is the first major proponent of Big Beat with origins in the US. Punk-Roc's music also betrays his up-bringing in the city where hip-hop was invented. Alongside the bits of modern noise and rumbling bass is the notable presence of classic hip-hop: archaic synth riffs and beat boxes, vocal clips, and even the occasional rap. Of course, because Punk-Roc left New York and took up residence in the UK, the sound of his debut album also has the bone-rattling depth of bass and mind-warping blips of post-techno that typify Britain's current dance music, with beats so prodigious that "Big" Beat is an almost humorous understatement. The mixture makes so much sense that it is surprising DeeJay Punk-Roc is not only the first, but the sole, American to make the combination of hip-hop and Chemical Beat so explicit. While the new Fatboy Slim record takes in much more hip-hop than did the first, and bands like the Freestylers drift in that direction, too, Deejay Punk-Roc is probably the first member of the Big Beat clan who grew up literally surrounded by real hip-hop culture. And since his Brooklyn upbringing makes him unique among the British indie kids who, up to now, invented, re-invented, and animated the genre of Big Beat, it is only appropriate that this distinguishing quality be put to good use on his record. American hip-hop purists will, of course, not accept the unconventional adoption of European measures to enhance the record, while some indie-cum-Chemical Beat fans may object to the intrusion of such an indiscrete dose of the boroughs of NYfuckin'C; everyone else will hail DeeJay Punk-Roc as the odds-on favorite to unify the belts in the super-heavy-weight class of beat music. --- REVIEW: dada, _dada_ (MCA) - Scott Slonaker The Los Angeles trio known as dada (lowercase, thank you) has resurfaced from the ashes of a failed label (I.R.S.) with their fourth album. As befits the band's rebirth of sorts, it's self-titled. Dada's music is both easy and impossible to categorize. They don't sound shockingly different than most of the other white guitar-pop bands, but there is somehow no good comparison. In this record, I can pick up a little Weezer, a touch of the Gin Blossoms, a dollop of _Pet Sounds_ /Jellyfish layered harmonies, some Replacements clatter, and a fair portion of strummy Toad the Wet Sprocket-esque preciousness. Among other things. What I can tell you is that the three musicians who make up this band- singer/bassist Joie Callo, guitarist/singer Michael Gurley, and drummer Phil Leavitt- are first-rate. They effortlessly keep the sonic palette varied and never boring - which is why I'm hearing such a pastiche. So, don't be fooled just because you remember "Dizz Knee Land", the group's only real hit (and a mediocre novelty at that). _dada_ opens with....a dance beat. Soon enough, the string-backed "Information Undertow" kicks in, bringing with it memories of Duran Duran's '93 comeback record. Things then get chunky in a hurry, with the Brit-pop guitar wall of "Playboy in Outerspace" and the first single, "California Gold", which nicks the opening melody from War's "Low Rider" before leaping into a chorus of "Crackers and the crack boys (mixin' it up)/ Maria and the boy toys (mixin' it up)/.45s and jet noise (mixin' it up)/Crackers and the crack melting into California gold." "Beautiful Turnback Time Machine" could have been pulled right off Jellyfish's _Spilt Milk_ (one of the finest overlooked records of this decade) "This Thing Together" has Beach Boys harmonies Brian himself would be proud of. Buried in the middle of all this is the gorgeous acoustic ballad "Goodbye", sung by Callo in his best falsetto. See? Most of the last few tracks are janglier and more like the dada of a few years ago. Fans are going to want to check out "Sweet Dark Angel" and "Baby Really Loves Me" in particular. Thankfully, dada is a band that has managed to find an audience without continuous radio and videoplay. See them on tour and you'd think they were platinum-selling stars. _dada_ is a fine choice for all fans of guitar-based pop music, and that's the best way I can describe it. --- REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Clay Pigeons_ (Universal) - Lang Whitaker Slap the dog and spit on the fire. The soundtrack for the new country-fried Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix flick "Clay Pigeons," assembles a collection of folk & country authentic enough to knock out your two front teeth and put your cars up on blocks in your yard. Playing country-alt-rock isn't the most technically challenging task in the world. What is difficult is endowing the music with a sense of the artist's personal pain and tragedy. For instance, when you listen to old Hank Williams stuff, you know the poor guy's heart is made up of sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground. The Old 97's kick off _Clay Pigeons_ with a driving version of "Timebomb" that will leave tobacco juice on your boots. Jimmy Wakely's "Moon Over Montana" is a cowboy ballad, narrating a beautiful scene over the wild, wild west. Wakely mixes a poignant oboe with a theremin to create a Western vista populated by technology junkies. Tonic's twangy take on "Everybody's Talkin'" tries really hard to be country, but it sounds just off the mark, like how Sheryl Crow tries to reinvent herself but never quite succeeds. The Verve Pipe don't even try to act like they're a country band, instead relying on the inclusion of an acoustic guitar to flash their message on their song "1229 Sheffield." Strangely enough, it sounds more authentic than the Tonic track. A big surprise comes from the normally annoying Sister Hazel, who is much better here with their version of the Bellamy Brothers' commercial classic "Let Your Love Flow," even tossing in some cool twin electric guitar flatpicking. Their lead singer still sounds like Travis Tritt with a cold, honking his way through the song. Wouldn't you know it? The one guy who gets it, really gets it, is of course Lyle Lovett. His voice is so divinely controlled and tightly spun, he's probably not even able to order pizza over the phone without sounding lyrical. And when Lovett sings, "I know about lonesome, now teach me about love," you simply have to believe him. He didn't get Julia Roberts to marry him because of his looks, you know. --- REVIEW: Beekeeper, _Ostrich_ (Southern) - Chelsea Spear Karla Schickele's work with Brooklyn's otherworldly Ida includes propelling the band's atmospheric pop forward with her appealingly melancholy bass lines, singing haunting background vocals, and occasionally writing songs. "Maybelle", her contribution to Ida's 1997 split single with Beekeeper, piqued my interest to hear more of her songwriting, and thus led me to Beekeeper's debut album. However, listening to Beekeeper on account of any associations with Ida can have the effect of a shot of tequila when you asked for a lemon merengue soda. The beauty and careful attention to melody that marks Ida's approach to songwriting and performance are nowhere to be found in their music. Instead, this band takes a similar approach to Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and its effect comes closer to Schickle's *other* band, Babe the Blue Ox. The band runs on loping rhytms, clean sheets of guitar rip through a song, and the lyrics are replete with poetic references to death and destruction. Beekeeper's music certainly has value; the telepathic musical interplay between Karla and her brother, Matt, adds an intriguing dimension to the music, and the musicianship that goes into the album reveals a depth of knowledge of their instrumental ability and passion that's hard to write off. However, I'm not much of a fan of emo-core, and though the connection between this trio and New York City's favourite indie-pop offspring got me in the door, I can't say I was all that interested in hearing what came to pass. If you're looking for intelligent, emotional art-core, or if you're as disappointed with the Dischord label as some of today's younger folk seem to be, Beekeeper might be the band to check out. While _Ostrich_ is no _Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom_, as a bassist's side project, Beekeeper are at least head and shoulders above Quasi. --- REVIEW: Photek, _Form & Function_ (Astralwerks) - Simon West "Anyone who can't hear emotion in a drum beat suffers from a lack of understanding of what's going on in dance music and they need to hear more." - Rupert Parkes, a.k.a. Photek He'd be the one to know. As drum and bass continues to assimilate ever more diverse musical genres, it's refreshing to see straight up minimalism ain't dead yet. _Form & Function_ is a compilation of early Photek singles, previously unavailable on CD, along with some recent remixes of same, and a couple of brand new tracks. The original versions of "The Seven Samurai", "Rings Around Saturn", "UFO" and "The Water Margin", recorded between 1994 and 1996 on Photek's eponymous label sit alongside recent remixes by both Photek and other leaders of the drum and bass scene. Spartan stuff for the most part, Photek's use of space is as important as beats. Unlike the more commercial drum and bass excursions of Roni Size et. al, this is abstract, brutal mood music. "The Seven Samurai" is particularly effective, with a cool, crisp sound that _sounds_ like the violence of the martial artist. "Rings Around Saturn" has an atypical groove to it, with samples from jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders mixed in with the sci-fi beats. Of the two new tracks, "Santiago" employs the odd hand-clap and has a funkier, less mechanical feel to it than typical Photek. "Knitevision" is a slow, ominous, throbbing affair, one of the standout tracks on the disc. Being a compilation, _Form & Function_ doesn't flow quite as well as Photek's debut _Modus Operandi_, but the quality is just as high. Don't come here looking for tunes - Photek's world is not a particularly radio-friendly one, but if you can hear "emotion in a drum beat" or just appreciate beats, the beats are here. --- REVIEW: Absinthe (featuring Sam Llanas), _ A Good Day to Die_ (Llanas) - Daniel Aloi Of all the reasons an artist may have for a solo project, the most often cited is one of expression -- the need to put forth something personal, apart from a band's established image. So it is for Sam Llanas, half of the singing-songwriting team (with Kurt Neumann) fronting the powerful, passionate roots-rock act The BoDeans. On his new album with a new band, Absinthe, Llanas isn't breaking away from the past, he's hitting it head-on. But don't expect the rave-ups the 'Deans are famous for. This is an intensely personal work, shot through with pain and loss, one that dwells on death and isolation. One man's story in 13 songs. Reflective, sobering, and starkly beautiful, _A Good Day to Die_ is a cathartic event for Llanas, a journey through his past, darkly. He's gathered, from fragments of songs written over the past 10 years, some of his most closely held thoughts and issues into one statement of who he is and the events that affected him. The man who sang "Fadeaway" here addresses loneliness and being left to deal with what's gone for good. This theme is defined in the title track, recalling the day of his brother Tom's suicide. Llanas was 15 when 19-year-old Tom -- someone he'd looked up to, who had tried to advise him -- took his life with their father's shotgun, leaving the Llanas family with pain and confusion. Unexpectedly, Sam's brother, Walter and Angie's son, who hadn't seemed particularly unhappy, was gone -- a lonely wind blows through the song, and all the survivors are left with are questions: "not even 20/and we still wonder why." Elegant, haunting and rich in feeling, "A Good Day to Die" opens and sets the tone for the album. In an almost spiritual quest for reconciliation, Llanas further explores isolation in "It Don't Bother Me" and "Still Alone," and childhood trauma in "The Bully on the Corner." Llanas has his friends there with him as he spins these personal tales -- Jim Eannelli on bass and guitar, and drummer Guy Hoffman, originally with the BoDeans, now with the Violent Femmes. Recording in Milwaukee at the BoDeans' Hacksville Studio with Llanas' coproducer Gary Tanin (who also engineered, mixed and mastered), the members of Absinthe make these songs evocative, and make the most of the dynamics suited to their bleak tone. They also come through with rock'n'roll muscle, as on "A Little Bit of Hell." The final song is "Time For Us," a countrified celebration of life worth living in the time we're given, as sung by a survivor who knows just how dear that is. It's followed by an uncredited closing track, of a long series of knells from a lone church bell. Each tone, a reminder of loss, shredded by a low, howling wind, hits you in the heart. Sam Llanas has given the fans of his more famous band's sensitive songs, and anyone who has ever lived through a loss, something to cherish and to think about. While he still remains with the BoDeans, Llanas is ready to continue singing these songs. Absinthe is preparing for a national tour to support the album, and I expect a lot of crying in clubs across the land. The album is nationally distributed by M.A.D. (Midwest Artists Distribution); further information is available by e-mailing multimus@execpc.com --- REVIEW: Lida Husik, _Faith in Space_ (Alias) / Pee Shy, _Don't Get Too Comfortable_ (Mercury) - Chelsea Spear In retrospect, Lida Husik's _Fly Stereophonic_ was one of the most beguiling albums to come out of 1997. After various folk- and electronica-influenced missteps, Husik finally found a compelling voice in marshmallowy, droning mid-tempo tunes that suggested Stereolab as fronted by Liz Phair. Smart lyrics and billowy melodies made this an album to listen to on rainy days when the only thing that would make you feel better is some ginger tea and gentle music that wouldn't insult your intelligence. Rather than deepening that approach, Husik has elected to go on yet another techno-experimental journey with her new disc, _Faith in Space_. These twelve tepid tracks feature warmed-over ambient beats, with Husik's lovely voice floating loftily over them. Unlike _Fly Stereophonic_, no one track stands out -- after a while, they all blend together in a kind of mid-tempo haze. Luckily _Faith in Space_ isn't a proper follow-up to her last album, but rather another techno experiment with British DJ and ardent Husik fan Benmont Tench, which she feels compelled to try every now and again. While I applaud Lida for trying something so different after mining such a successful groove with her previous album, I also wish that she would realise which limbs are solid enough to go out on, and which she should just leave alone. This dabbling in electronica would have been far more successful and fulfilling had she tried to integrate it into the music she plays full time, as with Beth Orton's successes including techno breakbeats into a singer/songwriter forum. While Lida continues to overextend her artistic voice, New York quartet Pee Shy pick up the slack and release a surprisingly fresh and tasty sophomore release with _Don't Get Too Comfortable_ . The band's previous release, _Who Let All The Monkeys Out?_, tried for a girly They Might Be Giants vibe but fell flat on their bracing tweeness. However, with _Comfortable_ the band upgrades their production from a lofi overintimacy to a clean, crisp approach. The songs are stronger on the whole than most of _Monkeys_, and the zingy instrumentation adds another dimension to their tuneful approach; a panoramic-sounding clarinet glides through "Bathroom Floor", and opening track "Mr Whisper" features a peripatetic piano line straight out of the TV show _A Charlie Brown Christmas_. The vocals and lyrics can occasionally be problematic -- while singers Jenny Juristo and Cindy Wheeler have commendably dropped the forced baby voice that marred much of the previous album, they occasionally adopt a similarly grating gravelly tone that's supposed to suggest Liz Phair's conversational approach. On those tracks in which the gals drop the pretense and just sing, they reveal sweet, appealing voices reminiscent of none other than Lida Husik at her prime. And while the lyrics may look heavy-handed and pretentious on the page, the girls' belief in their material and smart, sarcastic approach breathes new life into the sometimes-dubious words, which is a mark of a quality rock singer and frontperson. The strongest tracks on this album, including the playful "Greatest Show on Earth" and the poignant "Fear", have whetted my appetite to hear how the band will expand upon these ideas on their next album. --- REVIEW: Martin's Dam, _Sky Above_ (Hybrid) - Bob Gajarsky More than 10 years ago, when the Philadelphia music scene was threatening to become known in a way that would rival Athens, Georgia and (later) Seattle, a local band named Bricklin was signed to A&M. The scene - and band - was straight-ahead rock and roll, best known for the Hooters but best personified by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers. Unfortunately, Bricklin's self-titled debut never took off - Bon Jovi's did, as the world both loved and regretted - and Philadelphia's glitter faded away. The Bricklin brothers kept playing, honing their skills, and hoping for another opportunity at the brass ring. But that was when Danny Wilde was best known as a writer for other's songs - the Wildes and Great Buildings never having hit the big-time and the Rembrandts still just a figment in the imagination - and bands such as the Gin Blossoms hadn't made the soil fertile. Bonafide harmonious pop-rock music was as hard to find in the mid 80s as a club-bound Jersey girl without a hair full of aerosol spray. Now ten years later, they've returned in a new band, Martin's Dam (named after a young hangout of the Bricklin brothers, on the outskirts of Philly), with the harmonies, guitars and pop/rock sound still intact. The Bricklins haven't lost their touch of being able to sing; that was never in doubt. The leadoff (and standout) track, "Fear of Flying", incorporates the two-part vocals that were so special during their last album, with musical accompaniment that clearly owes a debt to the aforementioned Wildes, as well as (on "Thinking Of You") European singer Espen Lind. Other tracks such as "Mercy Blue" and "Julia" show that, just as before, Bricklin doesn't record great songs - they record great albums. To many, Martin's Dam will be a new experience that might just take the place of the Rembrandts. However, for those who had to search low and high for the self-titled debut disc, it's a hearty 'Welcome back!' to the Bricklin brothers. --- REVIEW: Peter Green/Splinter Group, _The Robert Johnson Songbook_ (Artisan) - Tim Kennedy This album held much promise. The current touring Peter Green and Splinter Group show features a two or three song segment of Robert Johnson material which is one of the highlights, the songs rendered in rootsy delta blues style. The obvious highlight of the live Peter Green show is his wonderful blues guitar playing and evocative voice which often ascend the heights of his heyday of the late 60s UK blues boom - heights that made no lesser a figure than BB King a Peter Green fan. Peter sank to unimaginable depths of drug-fuelled insanity and depression at the end of the 60s which led to him dropping out of the music business for more than 25 years whilst the band he formed, Fleetwood Mac, became a byword for AAA, music that neither offends nor inspires. _The Robert Johnson Songbook_ is the work of more than Peter Green. His self-proclaimed rescuer Nigel Watson looms large, not least on the sleeve artwork. According to a member of PG's entourage that I spoke to a couple of years ago, the real inspiration behind Peter's comeback is his (then) new wife - so perhaps the praise heaped on Nigel by himself in the sleevenotes for rescuing Peter from the doldrums are a little exaggerated. Peter had a similar tribute album made in his honour some years ago by Gary Moore. The style of most of this music stems from much later in the history of the blues than the period in the mid thirties when Johnson briefly flowered, chiefly Chicago in the 50s. The blues that came after the war was very much the same blues but with more modern technology. Elmore James and Muddy Waters retrod the same path, yet enervated by electric guitars. Therefore the idea of updating these songs seems not to have much value. It has already been done. Johnson himself borrowed most of his tunes and lyrics from singers he himself had seen. The reason why people listen to Johnson's few surviving works today is his incredible mastery of the acoustic guitar, which to Keith Richards, a huge fan from the dawn of the Stones, sounded like TWO guitarists. Also noteworthy is his ability to convey elemental feelings in his voice such as dread, lust, resignation and loss with such accuracy. The Stones covered these songs memorably, lending their peculiar arrogance to them with great effect. Led Zeppelin made their name by taking the delta blues into unfeasibly heavy territory. It is true to say that these bands fashioned the songs into something very different indeed. On this album the intent appears to be to stay true to traditional blues values as one might expect. One song here which approaches the greatness of the original is Peter's version of "Love In Vain", which displays fine playing and sensitive vocals. "Ramblin' On My Mind" also displays some of the emotion of Robert Johnson. With his friend Nigel he turns in a good Delta blues represenation of "Stones In My Passway". The jazzed up, gospelised versions of "When You Got A Good Friend", "32-20 Blues", "Phonograph Blues", "Last Fair Deal Going Down", "Stop Breaking Down", "Honeymoon Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago" are disappointing to say the least. These jolly romps bear little relation to the intent behind Robert Johnson's work. The use of a piano especially doesn't help. "Me And The Devil" is rendered in the Delta style but sounds again rather too jolly, as if Satan was not such a bad chap after all to meet strolling down to the crossroads on a summer evening. Nigel sings "Dust My Broom"like a young rockabilly to a production that could be by an updated Sun Studios. "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" displays similar rockabilly tendencies. It is impossible to tell if Peter is involved in these two efforts. Peter Green knows only too well of the horrors that haunted Robert Johnson's music, and it is a shame that this record only rarely allows us that insight. It is a wonderful thing that a living blues legend like Peter Green can return to performing after such a long and tragic period, and he is clearly enjoying life once again. However this album doesn't reflect the glory of the delta blues, and neither is it a great Peter Green album. --- NEWS: > Cheap Trick's first three albums have been re-released in digitally remastered form with extra bonus tracks by Sony/Legacy. The self-titled debut includes the previously unreleased studio versions of You're All Talk, Lookout, I Dig Go-Go Girls an outtake of Lovin' Money and an early version of I Want You To Want Me; _In Color_ includes unreleased demos of Southern Girls and Come On, Come On , unreleased live versions of You're All Talk and Goodnight and an instrumental version of Oh Boy; _Heaven Tonight_ includes unreleased outtakes of Stiff Competition and Surrender. > On November 24th, Hollywood Records will celebrate the 25th anniversary of British rock band Queen with the release of _Crown Jewels_, a box set featuring the band's first eight albums. Output from the band's self-titled debut through and including _The Game_ has been remastered under the surpervision of the surviving band members. The release of the 90-song collection _Crown Jewels_ coincides with the premiere of the brand new "Queen -- Legends" special on VH1 during "Queen Week" on the music video channel. --- TOUR DATES: 12Rods Nov. 7 New York, NY Brownies Baby Ray Nov. 5 Cambridge, MA Lizard Lounge Nov. 6 New York, NY Baby Jupiter Nov. 7 Branford, CT Exile on Main Street Nov. 8 Mystic, CT Green Marble Cafe Nov. 14 Boston, MA Bill's Bar Nov. 15 Boston, MA Mama Kin Better Than Ezra / Bic Runga Nov. 12 Edmond, OK University Center Ballroom Nov. 13 Austin, TX Liberty Lunch Nov. 14 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit Nov. 15 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum Live Candlebox Nov. 4 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's Nov. 5 Raleigh, NC Ritz Nov. 6 Virginia Beach, VA Peabody's Nov. 7 Roanoke, VA New River Valley Nov. 9 Carbondale, IL Copper Dragon Nov. 10 Indianapolis, IN World Mardi Gras Nov. 13 Anchorage, AK Egan Center Nov. 14 Honolulu, HI Kualoa Ranch Chocolate Genius Nov. 7 New York, NY The Fez Nov. 14 New Haven, CT Palace Theatre Nov. 15 Syracuse, NY Landmark Theatre Nov. 16 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Deftones / Pitchshifter / Quicksand Nov. 9 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum Live Nov. 10 Austin, TX Music Hall Nov. 11 Houston, TX International Ballroom Nov. 13 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle Nov. 14 Raleigh, NC Ritz Everlast Nov. 7 Winston Salem, NC Ziggy's Nov. 8 Charleston, SC Music Farm Nov. 11 Wilmington, NC Metropolis Nov. 12 Greenville, NC Attic Nov. 13 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Nov. 14 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall Nov. 15 Columbia, SC Elbow Room Miles Hunt Nov. 4 Austin, TX Stubbs Nov. 5 Houston, TX Instant Karma Nov. 6 Tulsa, OK The Brink Nov. 7 Tulsa, OK The Fur Shop Nov. 10 Atlanta, GA Smith's Olde Bar Nov. 11 Raleigh, NC Brewery Nov. 13 Toronto, Canada El Mocambo Nov. 14 Philadelphia, PA Pontiac Grill Nov. 15 Washington, DC Metro Howard Jones Nov. 4 San Francisco, CA Maritime Center Nov. 5 San Diego, CA Hurricane Nov. 6 Tucson, AZ Rialto Nov. 7 Las Vegas, NV Joint Nov. 10 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre Nov. 12 Chicago, IL Park West Nov. 13 Lackawanna, NY Sideshow Hall Nov. 14 Detroit, MI Majestic Nov. 15 Cleveland, OH Wilbert's Jude Nov. 4 Dallas, TX Curtain Club Nov. 5 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom Nov. 6 New York, NY Luna Lounge Nov. 10 Cleveland, OH Wilbert's Nov. 11 Pittsburgh, PA Rosebud Nov. 12 Virginia Beach, VA Nocturnal Cafe Nov. 13 Asheville, SC Stella Blue Marilyn Manson Nov. 4 Houston, TX Aerial Theatre Nov. 5 Dallas, TX Bronco Bowl Nov. 7 New Orleans, LA State Palace Nov. 9 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle Nov. 10 Charlotte, NC Ovens Nov. 11 Richmond, VA Landmark Theatre Nov. 13 Camden, NJ E-Center Nov. 14 Cleveland, OH Music Hall Mercury Rev Nov. 6 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom Motley Crue Nov. 7 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre Nov. 8 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center Nov. 10 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Hall Nov. 11 Louisville, KY Palace Theatre Nov. 13 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom Nov. 14 Minneapolis, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium Nov. 15 Davenport, IA Adler Theatre Mike Peters Nov. 4 Phoenix, AZ Mason Jar Nov. 7 Santa Barbara, CA Coach House Nov. 8 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House Nov. 9 Los Angeles, CA Viper Room Nov. 11 Santa Cruz, CA Palookaville Rev. Horton Heat / Amazing Crowns Nov. 6 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre Nov. 7 New Orleans, LA House of Blues Nov. 8 Pensacola, LA Sluggo's Nov. 9 Tallahassee, FL Cow Haus Nov. 11 Birmingham, AL 5 Points Music Hall Nov. 12 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Nov. 13 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre Nov. 14 Orlando, FL House of Blues Nov. 15 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre Tricky / Whale Nov. 7 Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues Nov. 9 Knoxville, TN Stock Exchange Nov. 10 Charlottesville, VA Trax Nov. 11 Pittsburgh, PA Metropol Nov. 13 New Haven, CT Toad's Place Nov. 14 Northampton, MA Pearl Street Nov. 15 New York, NY Roxy Moe Tucker Nov. 7 Newark, DE East End Nov. 9 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Nov. 10 Cambridge, MA TT The Bear's Nov. 11 Danbury, CT Classic Rock Brew Cafe Nov. 12 Ithaca, NY Nines Nov. 13 New Brunswick, NJ Budapest Nov. 14 Baltimore, MD Cafe Tattoo Nov. 15 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's Uz Jsme Doma Nov. 3 Ithaca, NY The Nines Nov. 4 New York, NY Baby Jupiter Nov. 11 Boston, MA Middle East Nov. 12 Washington, DC Black Cat Mike Watt Nov. 7 Salt Lake City, UT Zephyr Club Nov. 8 Boise, ID Nerolux Nov. 9 Missoula, MT Jay's Nov. 10 Spokane, WA Ichabod's Nov. 12 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe Nov. 13 Olympia, WA Capitol Theatre Nov. 14 Portland, OR Berbatis Pan Wesley Willis / Cats & Jammers Nov. 12 Cleveland, OH Euclid Tavern Nov. 13 New Brunswick, NJ Melody Bar Nov. 14 Portsmouth, NH Elvis Room Nov. 15 Providence, RI The Call --- Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest music reviews publication on the Internet. To get back issues of Consumable, check out: WWW: http://www.consumableonline.com (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC To subscribe to Consumable, send an e-mail message to consumable-request@westnet.com with the body of the message stating "subscribe consumable". To unsubscribe, send a message to the same address stating "unsubscribe consumable". Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online, 409 Washington St. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===